When Statutory Rape Laws Led to Forced Marriages
In early 20th-century New York, men accused of "ruining" women under eighteen could avoid prosecution by marrying them.
How Teenage Girls Invented Fandom
They were mocked for their obsession with movies. But the fan culture they constructed help build Hollywood.
How American Girl Scouts Shocked Mexico in the 1950s
At a retreat center called Our Cabaña, girls from all over the world became Cold War–era diplomats. American scouts had additional ideas.
The Unlikely Role of Kitchens in Occupied Japan
After World War II, "occupationaries" tried to spread American-style domesticity to Japanese women.
Inside a Home for Unwed Mothers
Young, unmarried pregnant women sometimes gave birth in secret at maternity homes. A historian uncovered some of their stories.
Consciousness-Raising Groups and the Women’s Movement
In the 1970s, one of the most powerful tools of feminism came from speaking out loud the nature of oppression.
This Forgotten Female Orator Broke Boundaries for Women
At a time when respectable women rarely spoke to the public, Anne Laura Clarke was a star lecturer.
Black Women Have Written History for over a Century
Barriers of racism and sexism slowed them down, but academia wasn't their only venue.
Was “Khaki Fever” a Moral Panic over Women’s Sexuality?
At the start of World War I, young working-class women swooned for men in uniform, leading middle-class women to form patrols to police public morals.
In The Gay Cookbook, Domestic Bliss Was Queer
Chef Lou Rand Hogan whipped up well-seasoned wit and served a gay take on home life during the early-1960s craze for camp.